NEWS AND NOTES:
-For our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast, along with our UTR CONFERENCE WATCH where we indicate who’s on pace to wrap up 1st place, home court advantage, or who’s in danger of being eliminated from qualifying for their conference tournaments – CLICK HERE
-We have one potential elimination from the HoopsHD Survival Board tonight — Cal Poly will be eliminated with a loss tonight at Fullerton combines with a Bakersfield win at Long Beach.
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Duke blasted Miami FL on the road 84-55. Miami was one of my preseason picks to make the Final Four. I’m starting to think that I may not have been correct in that.
-Illinois fell at Penn State in one of the crazier finishes of the night. The Illini struggled throughout the game, but appeared to be in control when they held a 7pt lead with less than 1:20 to play. They missed several freethrows, which kept Penn State in it, and then they fouled Penn State as they were shooting a 3 with just 4 seconds left. When the dust cleared, Penn State had pulled the 90-89 upset and the fans stormed the court. As Chad Sherwood said, it was one of the most energetic crowds we’d ever seen that was supporting a team with a losing record!
-Florida led Alabama at Alabama for most of the game, but after being seemingly ice cold for at least 30 minutes of play, Bama hit a couple of 3s, the crowd got into it, and they were able to come back and force overtime. Florida had a chance to win at the end of regulation (as did Alabama), but couldn’t score on their last possession. Then the Tide got control in the OT and pulled off the 98-93 win. It’s not a bad loss for the Gators by any means, but a win would have really boosted their resume and shot them up the seedline.
-We figured Dayton might struggle yesterday. Well, they did. In fact they lost yesterday at George Mason 71-67. Dayton is obviously safely in the field barring some sort of a historic collapse, but I don’t think they have any real shot at a protected seed anymore.
-Kentucky at LSU was another crazy finish. Kentucky was in control for most of the first half, but LSU came out strong out of the locker room, got the lead and it was close the rest of the way. Kentucky hit a shot with 12 secs to go to give themselves a 1pt lead, and then made a great defensive play blocking what would have been a game winning shot for LSU. The problem is they blocked it right into the hands of Jordan Wright, who found Tyrell Ward wide open for a game winning layup, and LSU pulled off the 75-74 upset. Kentucky had been playing so well that it was a game you were really expecting them to win even though it was on the road, and it may be a bit of a setback because LSU is nowhere near the field, but overall they are still in much better shape than they were a week ago. The video of the last play may be the most tweeted video in history, BTW.
-Colorado State vs New Mexico was yet another Mountain West game between two solid tournament teams that came down to the wire. New Mexico held a lead for most of the second half, but Colorado State hung in and actually took a lead in the final ten seconds. A layup and foul on New Mexico’s last possession helped them escape with a 68-66 win. This would have been a really big road win for Colorado State that would have helped their seeding. It’s not a bad loss, but it was a missed opportunity to really strengthen their resume.
-Samford had to make some big plays in the final minute of their game against Furman to get the 74-72 win. They are one step closer to clinching 1st place in the SoCon, and their hopes of landing inside the bubble are still barely flickering.
-Providence, who is squarely on the bubble, got a much needed 79-75 road win at Xavier. Any road win in a conference like this goes a long way toward getting a team on the right side of the cut line.
-Nebraska, who had been awful on the road and who needed road wins on their resume more than anything else, got a big 85-70 road win at Indiana last night. It may not seem like much on the surface, but it’s still a very big win for a team that needed to do something on the road. It’s just their second true road win of the season.
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HOOPS HD SURVIVAL BOARD UPDATE (CLICK HERE to view the Whole Board):
-CAL POLY AT CAL STATE FULLERTON (Big West). Cal Poly will be mathematically eliminated with a loss tonight and a Cal State Bakersfield win at Long Beach State
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-RUTGERS AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Rutgers has been playing better and getting closer to the bubble. A win tonight would really put them on the map, but that’s easier said than done. Purdue is squarely on the #1 line despite losing their last game at Ohio State, and it’s just not easy to beat #1 seed caliber teams on the road.
-SMU AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (American). FAU continues to be a wildly inconsistent team, sometimes even within the same game. They fell behind by 25 in their last game at South Florida, but came back and almost won it. They’re at home, and they’re facing an SMU team that they should beat, but with FAU you just never know and with SMU, if they were to get a win like this, then suddenly they are looking like a team that could make the field.
-APPALACHIAN STATE AT OLD DOMINION (Sun Belt). App State will likely be on the bubble if they win out, but anything short of that won’t be enough, and even winning out won’t guarantee them a spot in the field.
-OHIO STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Minney keeps inching closer and closer to the bubble and needs to hold serve tonight.
-GRAND CANYON AT TARLETON STATE (WAC). This is perhaps GCU’s toughest remaining game. They should still be able to win it, despite it being on the road against a fairly good Tarleton team, and if they do they they are running down hill. If they win out through the end of the regular season they should be in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in the conference tournament.
-MICHIGAN AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Northwestern is solidly in our projected field right now, and they will remain there so long as they can continue to hold serve in games like this.
-GONZAGA AT PACIFIC (West Coast). The Zags are right on the bubble and should be able to make the field if they win out through the regular season. If they lose a game like this then they’re really in trouble.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). These are the top two teams in the conference. Both are in the rankings and both are solidly in our field with Arizona looking like a potential #1 seed and Wazzu looking to really improve their resume with one of the bigger singular wins any team will manage all year. Washington State won the first meeting, but beating Arizona at Arizona is an entirely different level.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT UC IRVINE (Big West) (Gouch0-Eater Cup). It’s the Gouch-Eater Cup!!!! One of our new favorite made up rivalries!!! UC Irvine is the 1st place team in the Big West and can get one step closer to clinching the title with a win tonight.